Ugly happenings on a vessel using the US as a Flag of Convenience need urgent investigation
In a tale of bitter and outrageous irony, the US has become a Flag of Convenience for at least one group of foreign owners. And, the disgraceful situation needs to be broadcast throughout the internet, in the interests of seafarers throughout the world. (I am indebted to gcaptain.com)
A 187 gross ton tuna fisher, Majestic Blue, is owned by Majestic Blue Fisheries and flies the US flag as it plies the Western and Central Pacific. Previously it was registered in South Korea and has South Korean owners, while the 23 crew are mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia.
Because it now flies the US flag, a US captain has to command the ship and this duly happened when registration changed, with the Korean captain becoming the fish master. That's when the saga seems to have got going.
The captain is quoted: "As a human being it was appalling to witness, on an American ship, seafarers being beaten. I was on the navigation bridge with a pleasant young Indonesian, the equivalent of a third officer. Suddenly, the chief engineer came in and punched him with his fist, with full force, then kicked him with full force between the buttocks. Sometime (sic) the chief engineer would use a bamboo stick, hitting him about the shoulders, neck and head”.
The captain says he found it difficult to exercise authority. He was seen as second-in-command and officers sometimes refused to obey orders. He thinks beatings continued out of sight and that the crew accepted the violence as part of life. The Koreans refused to follow MARPOL regulations, particularly in regard to -- no prizes for guessing -- the oily-water separator.
It became apparent that the US captain was meant to be merely a figurehead. He was unable to maneuver the ship or use the navigation equipment.
Matters became so bad, according to the captain, that he feared he was to become a target for violence. He was able to use the ship's satellite phone in secret and sent messages to his wife, who passed them on to the Coast Guard, which set up a meeting in Tawara, Kiribati – where he has been telling of his ordeal.
If this is happening on one vessel, the same must have happened to others. Time for the Coast Guard and other agencies to get on the case.